Banished Vol 1 1
Point of No Return is the first episode of Banished. Characters Heroes *Magi (first) *Victor (first) *Silver Spider (first) (origin revealed) *Fantastic (first) (origin revealed) *Commissar Wagner (first) (origin revealed) *Black Panther (first) (origin revealed) Neutral *Beyonder (first) Villains Locations *Desert Beyond Space and Time *Prison (unknown reality) Plot Location: Nowhere. Era: Nowhen. (Desert scene) Welcome to the Desert of Space and Time. Nothing ever happens here. Time passes, breezes come and go. But this desert will soon see more activity than ever before. A portal forms in silence. A shadow falls on the desert, and a body soon does to accompany it. No one knows her name. Once she was an X-Man: Professor X's soldier, Wolverine's friend. Her life and reality bear similarities to others, but she makes it very different. Female: A desert. How utterly tasteless. Her world differs when Doctor Strange helps the X-Men after Decimation. She accompanied him back to the Sanctum Sanctorum since she had no mutant powers. She soon exceeded her master in power, and became Magi: the next in line to be Sorcerer Supreme. But if past struggles continue, her pleasant reality will cease to be. She may have to begin anew. Magi: When I find that fool again, he shall pay most deeply for my banishment. Lady, if you brought me here, you shall be the one who "pays most deeply." A young man jumps out from behind a sand dune and fires a glowing blue bolt at Magi. She freezes the bolt in a small force field, and sends it back at him, knocking him over. She then encases the man in a force field. Magi: I didn't choose for you to be here. If I had a choice, I wouldn't be here. By the way, that Level 1 blast was very weak, as was your element of surprise. So what's your name, boy? Man: I have many names. I prefer you call me Victor. But if you must...call me Doom. Magi: As in Doctor Victor von Doom?! I don't know what trickery this is, or if you are affiliated with that wiccan, but I know all about you. You villainous scum. Victor: Alright then, lady, watch what terms you throw around before you know a guy. I'm just as much of a hero as I suspect you are. I abhor trickery. So what you see is what you get. And if you are indeed a hero, I apologize for the "very weak Level 1 blast." Magi: I am a hero, and my name isn't lady. It's Magi. Victor: Fair enough, you remember I'm Victor. (A man appearing to be an armored Spider-Man appears and falls on the sand.) Spider: Light? Perfect. I've been discovered. You a HYDRA agent, little man? Magi and Victor stare in confusion. Spider: OK, you don't know me. I guess you're not villains, and I'm safe. Victor: Heroes indeed, armored arachnid! Magi: If everything said is true... Spider: I'm going to guess that you (points at Magi) are an anti-hero, perhaps a teen hero, former or current, maybe a magician, and you (points at Victor) are a second-rate kid Dr. Doom knockoff. How'd I do? Magi: Spot-on. I'm Magi, the kid's name is Victor, though he claims he's the real von Doom. As for you, Victor was right, you remind me of Spider-Man. Spider: Excellent, I was hoping the costume was a good tribute. I'm the Silver Spider. My old man was Spider-Man. You can call me Curt or Curtis, whichever you prefer. Magi: I know my heroes, Spidey had no kids. (Might have even been a virgin...) SS: Oh, but he does. About 10 other super-heroes have kids too. We're a new Avengers team. Victor: So you're from the far future, you're from the near future...this Sahara knockoff isn't telling us everything. 3 silhouettes appear in the distance: a bulky one, a tall, thin one with a sword, and a female of medium height and build. Victor: If those aren't our captors, I'm a monkey's uncle. Shall we? SS: Indeed. SS: I was battling HYDRA forces before bring transported to Sand Central. I like butt-kicking way too much...when it's not my own butt getting kicked. Upon arriving at the other 3: they slow, and the bulky one speaks. Hold! We come in peace. We were transported here, and are in the dark as well. Victor: I still remain on the offensive. Who are you all? (The bulky silhouette steps out in the open). SS: The SUPER-SKRULL?! Victor: Who? SS: Shapeshifting alien with the powers of the Fantastic Four, and the addition of hypnosis. Nearly omnipotent, and a massive threat to all who dare challenge him. I've never seen him, but he's almost exactly like Dad described him. Super-Skrull: You mistake my history, child. I don't know, the powers may be what you describe...(His arms burst into flame and stretch, while his torso grows a rock armor) and I do not use the name you have given me. My name is Kl'rt, though humans call me Kelsey Princeton. Victor: Isn't Kelsey technically a girl's name? Magi: Can it, kid. Continue, Kl'rt. Kl'rt: My codename is the Fantastic, and I am a member of the SHIELD Superhuman Unit known as the Avengers. SS: Great, now he says the Avengers are run by SHIELD, and he of all people is a member! Victor: My enemies reverend you as a god. I know where you stand in the grand scheme of things. Magi: Gang, can we get on with this, please? (The tall silhouette steps out.) I am known as... Magi: Kurt? Nightcrawler? I am not the Nightcrawler you take me for, but I was once Kurt. My name is Commissar Wagner, alias Kristoff Wagner, proud trainer of all German superhumans. My powers are invisibility, teleporting, and super-strength, all due to the wondrous invention known as the Super-Soldier Serum. Magi: Oh, get a hold of yourself, please. The one man with the Super-Soldier Serum is Captain America. All you can do is teleport, Nightcrawler of the X-Men. Commissar: Woman, I do not know why you refute such truth in front of innocent children, nor do I care! But as for these X-Men and Captain America, I have no knowledge of the former, and the latter is a despicable bastard who should be dead by all rights. Victor: We're all friends here guys, remember that... Magi: I'm gonna tear him 3 new ones... Victor: Spider, webs. (Silver Spider webs both their mouths shut.) Thanks. And you, sir? Who might you be? I am the Black Panther, proud warrior, queen of Wakanda, and member of the Avengers. I was formerly in a situation most dire, so I appreciate the reprieve. (Magi sends a telepathic message to the entire group, since her face is still webbed.) Who are you, BP? The Black Panther I knew was a men, named T'Challa. Black Panther: T'Challa is... (Another deeper male voice is heard). I have seen enough. I am responsible for your presence here. I have no name, but most call me the Beyonder. (Fantastic immediately flies up to the Beyonder and tries to fry him with fire. Beyonder snaps his fingers, and his flame shuts off. He's able to coat himself in rock before he hits the ground.) Beyonder: I am omnipotent, so I recommend you do not attempt what he did. (slight pause) I must request some time from you. Will you give it to me, or shall I take it? Victor: Fine. What? Beyonder: You are all from different Earths with different histories. You must learn about these histories to work effectively as a team. (He waves his hands and the sky clears. Soon it turns black as pitch, and a light appears from behind.) Consider this no different from your tradition of "movie night," except you are he movie stars. He is Victor von Doom. Victor. On most worlds, he is a major terrorist threat. But on this world, he wasn’t always. He is plucked from his teenaged years, the earliest he was safe for the team. He built his own armor and studied sorcery to try and free his mother from hell. That’s all that’s happened to him so far. Be nice to him, or he won’t stay a hero for long. He is Kl’rt. The Fantastic. Shortly after fleeing the Skrull homeworld after the Kree/Skrull War, which happened earlier than on most worlds, he flew through a radiation cloud, granting him incredible abilities. He did not have much time to adjust to being stranded on Earth, until SHIELD chose him to head a new team called the Avengers. It is his family. It’s a life he loves. She is Ororo Munroe. The Black Panther. On a world where T'Challa married the beautiful Ororo as soon as they met, he was killed by the sonic mastermind known as Ulysses Klaw. She was forced to take his mantle to save her country. She now serves alongside fellow Avengers. She can be as calm as a summer breeze, but gets a temper as violent as a raging Storm. She may be your most valuable asset. Silver Spider has met with nothing but success. As a child, he was his father’s pride and joy, and his mother’s greatest weapon. He began as nothing, but soon rose to the rank of leader in the Avengers. He prefers using his abilities over his powers, but will use them if it means the difference between life and death. Commissar Wagner, AKA Kristoff Wagner, was a boy given the ability to teleport as far as 5 miles in one jump. Born into poverty, he was drawn towards a dark side: thievery. He was forgiven for his crimes and accepted the Super-Soldier Serum to become a teacher to German superhumans. As a grown man, you would call him a villain, but in truth he is not. His is simply a world where Communism works, an anti-hero teacher with similarities not unlike Charles Xavier. And then there is Magi. Like many mutants, she has revealed little about her past. But what is known is that she served as an X-Man, and was close to Wolverine. Her world differs during the Decimation, when she left the X-Men to serve with Doctor Strange as his apprentice. She has grown to new bounds. More powerful than ever before, and more at risk than anyone. So this is you. A talented, eclectic group. Darker than the average, but perfect for your goals. That's the good news. The bad news is that you have been effectively sucked out of time. Black Panther: So what does this... Beyonder: I shall tell you, Ororo. Time is very similar to a living being. Whether it is alive or not is unknown to all. But it has shape, growth, and motion, like DNA. Each strand of “DNA” makes a different reality. There are trillions. None are exactly the same. You might be made of energy, still be apes, protozoa, or you might be the other gender. But…there are bad genes, just like in the body. Cancer. Baldness. Blindness. They might not affect the body, though. Say, if the right combination of events doesn’t happen, or the genes are recessive. SS: I always was bad at physiology. Beyonder: There are also “hiccups.” Breaks in time that causes domino effects in many other worlds. And they just keep repeating, over and over again. You are here because you suffered from those hiccups. Your pasts have been altered in the following ways. Ororo, when your fight alongside the X-Men, your boyfriend's son kills you to get back at his dad. Commissar, your students become fed up with you and lead a revolt. You are murdered by a student named Quintavius Quire. Silver Spider, on the HYDRA mission you were plucked from, you are discovered and captured. HYDRA soldiers induce amnesia, and return you to the Avengers to destroy them from within. Victor, when you confront Dormammu to save your mother's soul, he defeats you. You become a villain, and turn your world into a figurative hell, before being sent to the real one. You are re-united with your mother in the worst possible way. You have thousands of clones made of you, Fantastic. And though you defend the world and your teammates from the horde, you and the entire Avengers team are killed. Magi, your reality does not change from another, and since no duplicates can occur, yours is deleted, and will never have existed. It's a lot to take in. But, fortunately, if you serve your missions, and successfully complete each one, which involves doing what I say through the Nullifier, and you can restore your worlds to what they once were. Just repair these breaks in reality (since they do affect you), and you will be totally fine. Commissar: And this "Nullifier" is? Beyonder: Ah, yes. The Nullifier. (He waves his hands and a white wristband appears.) This is the Nullifier. Wear it on your wrist, and it will feed you information on each reality. If half of your team is captured or knocked unconscious, it turns into a powerful gun capable of paralyzing being even such as Galactus. Victor: Which means what? Magi: It means, if half of us are screwed, no one else will be. Beyonder: But you should know, there are dangers. You can be injured, you can die, and if you disobey, you will be sent back to these hells. So, though the choice is yours, I hope the choice is clear. One last thing: the Nullifier is also the inter-reality transport. So now, I must bid you farewell. This is not the last you've seen of me. (Beyonder begins walking away and disappearing into mist.) Magi: Wait! (Beyonder reappears.) Yes? Magi: Aren't you coming with us? Beyonder: I can't. Technically, I don't exist. SS: Wait, what? Beyonder: This desert is made from the combined consciousness of you 6. A combination of your barren mental landscapes and trauma. I am the product of your mental curiosity and similar things. Technically, everyone in existence, but mostly you right now. I'm a living verb, as is the desert. So ends the lesson. I'll be in touch here and there. Best of luck. Suddenly, the entire group glows bright blue and yellowish-white. Then they disappear. Then the group appears in midair, and they land 10 feet down on a concrete floor. Victor: Where the hell are we? Commissar: The Nullifier is telling me. Can't you hear it? Black Panther: I cannot. Magi: Nothing. SS: Nada. Victor: Guys, look. We aren't alone. Commissar: Well, even if the Nullifier said nothing, I recognize this place. Ladies and germs, welcome to prison. Fade to black. Trivia *Magi's quote "When I find that fool again, he shall pay most deeply for my banishment" inspires the name "Banished" Category:Banished: the Series Category:Banished Issues